Transformers: The Wrath of War
by VenomBat22
Summary: PLEASE READ PREVIOUS STORIES BEFORE READING THIS ONE. THANK YOU  After Megatron's failures on Earth, The Fallen has ordered Thunderwing to find an ancient ally to aid them. Willl The Autobots be prepared for this?


_**Transformers: **_

_**The Wrath of War**_

By Ken Wink

_Chapter 1: Megatrons Punishment_

As soon as the battle at Atlantis was over, Megatron and Starscream were worried. When they got back to base, they were afraid to go back to Cybertron because The Fallen would punish them most severely. Now, Megatron was a decent leader and he would do what any leader would do: face the consequences.

"Soundwave. Transport us to Cybertron. I must face The Fallens wrath."

Soundwave nodded, and the two Decepticons vanished. When they arrived on Cybertron, they were in front of The Fallens temple. Megatron walked cautiously toward it. Starscream walked faster, since he didn't do anything wrong. After close to an hour of waiting for Megatron, they arrived at The Fallens throne room. He looked like he normally did; sitting there, looking like a statue. When they got to the center, he spoke.

"Megatron. Starscream. You return. Has Earth been taken over?"

They stayed quiet. The Fallen grew a little angry.

"Well?"

They still remained quiet. He grew very angry.

"Speak! Has Earth been taken over?"

"N-No, Lord Fallen." said Starscream.

There was a shine in The Fallens eyes, and next thing he knows, Megatron was being electrocuted.

"RAHHHHHHH!" yelled the mighty leader.

Megatron got down on one knee from the pain.

"Why do you continue to fail me? Killing Autobots isn't as hard as it sounds."

"I-I'm sorry. Prime had the Matrix, and overpowered us." said Megatron.

"Excuses, excuses. You have failed me for the last time Megatron! For time being, Starscream will be leader of the Decepticon army."

"I thank you master I will not fail you as Megatron has." said Starscream.

"I sure hope not."

"And I have good news master."

"Yes?"

Starscreams cockpit opened up, and Ron came flying into Starscreams hand. He held Ron up to The Fallen.

"I have successfully captured one of the chosen humans for you!"

"Excellent Starscream. Put him inside this cage."

A cage came soaring from above. It landed in front of Starscream and he put Ron inside.

"And in case you get any ideas..." said The Fallen.

The Fallens eyes shined again, and Rons gun bracelet short circuited, and was deactivated. Ron took it off, and threw it onto the floor. He looked at The Fallen with anger.

"You won't get away with this you overgrown rust bucket! Optimus Prime will-"

"Silence, insect!" said The Fallen as he electrocuted Ron.

Ron fell to the cages floor in pain. He stayed quiet.

"Now... guards! Take Megatron to the dungeons until I need him."

"Yes sir!" said two guards who were right beside him.

They took Megatron by his arms and began to walk him out. They stopped when a drone guard came running in.

"L-Lord Fallen! We've captured two Cybertronians! One of them is a Decepticon!"

"Bring them in at once! And Megatron... you may want to stick around for this."

The guard left, and the other guards let go of Megatron. The guard soon came back in with two Cybertronians. The one on the right, was bulky. He was mainly red, with a flame detail on his chest, although he didn't have and alternate mode. The one on the left, was the tallest. His face was resembling that of a middle aged man. He was mainly black and purple and spoke like an old man even though he wasn't old.

"Here our the prisoners my lord. The traitorous Jetfire and his friend, Hotshot!" said the guard.

The Fallen stared at them with great curiosity.

"Hahahaha. Jetfire. You remember him, don't you Starscream?"

"Yes master. He was the best Decepticon air commander before I came along."

"I am still the best. You are no air commander, just a whimpering, cowardly, cocky pile of rust that kisses up to Megatron." said Jetfire.

"Silence you traitor! I am leader of the Decepticon army!" yelled Starscream.

Jetfire chuckled and Starscream grew more angry. The Fallen continued.

"Now... What were they caught doing?"

"Stealing energon cubes my lord!" said a guard.

"Haha. Energon cubes? Were you planning on taking them to Earth and give them to Optimus Prime?"

"Nah. We were going to absorb it all and then destroy you; of course we were going to give them to Prime!"

"Ha. And your friend? Was he in on this?"

"Yes. We both tried to steal them for the sake of the Autobots."

"Just for that, Starscream will chose your sentencing. Go ahead."

"I thank you master. Now, what to do with you two..." said Starscream as he paced.

Jetfire didn't seem concerned, but Hotshot, was really nervous.

"I know! Since you used to be my friend, Jetfire; you are here by exiled from Cybertron forever! If you want, you can go to Earth and assist Prime! Now for your Autobot friend."

Starscream walked to Hotshot. He stared at him and walked around him.

"Hotshot is to be executed at once!"

"NO!" yelled Jetfire.

Jetfire tried to get free, but Starscream was too quick for him and blasted Jetfire in the head. Jetfire was knocked out; unconscious. He fell to the floor. The guards picked him up.

"Take him to the pod bay. Set his course for Earth."

"Yes lord!" said the drones.

The dragged him along and soon, he was out of sight. Starscream smiled as he saw his ex best friend, being exiled. He turned to Hotshot.

"Well, well, you have anything to say Autobot?"

"Yeah." said Hotshot in a jokester kind of voice.

He spit on Starscreams foot. Starscream had enough. He grabbed a guards staff, and made Hotshot get on his knees. He lifted Hotshots head up with the staff.

"Say good-bye, Autobot!"

Starscream raised the staff, and pierced it through Hotshots chest and spark. Ron covered his eyes in horror. He released it, and the Autobot fell to the floor, dead. Starscream threw the staff back at the drone.

"Drones, take this filthy Autobot to the furnace at once!"

"Yes Lord."

The drones picked him up and walked out. The remaining drones stood by for orders.

"Drones! As Lord Fallen ordered, take Megatron to the dungeons till he says otherwise!"

They agreed and walked Megatron out. Starscream bowed before The Fallen.

"When do I go to Earth?"

"You don't. I have a special Decepticon to do that. Plus, I am sending you on a top secret mission. But first, Thunderwing! Front and center!"

_Chapter 2: New Enemy_

At that moment, a tall six story Decepticon came into the room, along with nine other Decepticons. He had both hands behind his back as he walked. The others, looked very vicious.

"Thunderwing, are you ready for your trip to Earth?" asked The Fallen.

"Hahaha. Of course my lord. I will succeed where Megatron failed!" said Thunderwing.

Thunderwing was as bad as a Decepticon could be. He stood very firm, and was a very powerful and very smart Decepticon. His armor was similar to Starscreams, but his head was more like Megatrons, and he was yellow and much older. Though he was older, his voice sounded like a young adult. Other then this, not much else is known about him, other then the fact that he is a Decepticon war hero.

"And your men? Are they ready?" asked The Fallen.

"Of course. Now I introduce my men!"

He waved his arm and from left to right, he spoke their names.

"Barricade! Thrust! Sixshot! Blackout! And now, the Combaticons: Onslaught! Brawl! Swindle! Blast Off! Vortex!"

The Fallen was happy that Thunderwing had chosen some of the most dangerous Decepticons to over take Earth. Barricade was the shortest of the group; about the size of the Autobot Bumblebee. His weapon of choice, was a energy mace and a grenade pistol. He was more vicious then any of his comrades which made him a dangerous foe to fight. He spoke with a deep scratchy accent.

Thrust was Thunderwings second in command. He was the same height as Thunderwing. Thrust was a well known aerialist and could shoot down anything in one shot. He had the appearance of Ramjet, only he was red and black. His main weapons were a straight shot rifle, and grenades. He spoke with a British type of accent, only it was more deep.

Blackout was the same height as Thunderwing. He was also the bulkiest of the group. He was mainly all black. His main choice of weapon was a gun that had three barrels kinda forming a triangle. It was a better kind of machine gun. He spoke with a grunt-ish voice.

Sixshot was a special kind of Decepticon. He was one of two Six Changers on Cybertron. He could transform into 6 different modes; counting his robot mode. He didn't really have a choice weapon, since his different modes had all kinds of weapons. He spoke with a deep voice.

The Combaticons were highly seen as the most powerful of all Combiners on Cybertron. They were led by Onslaught, who was the tallest of his men, standing at Thunderwings height. The others were all shorter then him. He was mainly blue and black. He wore an ancient Cybertronian helmet, and was covered in war paint. His main weapon was a rocket launcher that he kept with him at all times. Other times, he used a sledge hammer as his secondary weapon.

Brawl was a foot taller then Barricade. He was mainly brown. By appearance, he looked like the silent type, but he was really a crazy fighter. He had 2 tank snouts on his back as a primary weapon in vehicle mode. His gun was a 10-megawatt electron gun. He was more of a close combat combatant. His voice was like a crazy persons.

Swindle was the same size as Brawl. He was mainly yellow with some black on his arms and legs. He mainly had a long Gatling gun on his shoulder. He spoke with a tough guy accent. Other then his guns, he had steel knuckles as a close combat weapon.

Blast Off was taller then Brawl and Swindle, but not Onslaught. He was mainly black, and he is seen with a tank snout on his back. He was mainly a snob to his fellow Combaticons, but was cruel and merciless to Autobots. He spoke with a British accent. His weapon of choice is a electrical ionic blaster. Other times, he uses a energon staff as his weapon, which he keeps on his belt.

Vortex, was slightly shorter the Onslaught, but taller then Blast Off. On his head, he had a mask like thing on his mouth, and his eyes were not really eyes. More like one big red goggle. He was mainly gray. He spoke with a high, child-like accent. Like Starscream, he had guns on his arms. Occasionally, he used an energon blade as a weapon.

They all stood at attention. Thunderwing stood in front of them and faced his master.

"Do you understand your mission Thunderwing?" asked The Fallen.

"Of course, my master. How shall we get there?"

"You will take a scout ship to the planet Earth. Find my creation, activate him, and DESTROY THE AUTOBOTS!"

"Of course. We shall go at once."

Thunderwing bowed his head and took off, with his men following him. When they left the room, Starscream spoke.

"Lord Fallen. What of the human?"

"Hmm... Scalpel! Come to me at once!"

As his voice roared, a very short drone came out of the side door. He wore glasses, and was in a type of lab coat. He spoke with a crazy, little kid kind of voice. He approached his master.

"How may I be of service?"

"Doctor, examine this alien specimen."

"Of course master."

Scalpel transformed into a human sized crab bot. He crawled up The Fallens leg and attached himself to the outside of the cage holding Ron. Ron fled to the other side of the cage, away from The Doctor.

"Persistent, aren't we human?"

"Keep away from me!"

"Master, I may have to make him unconscious and take him to the lab."

"Permission granted Scalpel. Now, before you take him, I will have a word with this insect."

"Yes my master."

The Fallen raised the cage up, and the cage was right against his face. Ron moved closer to The Fallen.

"What is it you rust bucket?"

"I have something to tell you. The Autobots will NEVER defeat me. That part is true. Another thing, is that we will force the clue out of you, just like you did in Atlantis."

"It won't help you."

"Why not?"

"Four humans. Each one holds one clue. So, I have only one clue, so it's pointless."

He turned and stared at Starscream.

"YOU IDIOT! WHY DIDN'T YOU KIDNAP THE OTHER THREE?"

"There wasn't time. Our forces were weakening. Aren't you happy with one?"

"HAVING JUST ONE IS POINTLESS! I MUST HAVE ALL FOUR BEFORE MY ASSAULT ON EARTH!"

"Thunderwing might capture the others for you?"

The Fallen calmed down.

"You have a point Starscream. Doctor, extract the information from his mind. Make him hurt if you must." said The Fallen as he moved close to the cage.

"Any last words before you leave me?"

"No. Just this." said Ron as he spit onto The Fallens eyes.

He wiped it off and grew angry.

"SCALPEL! AWAY WITH HIM AT ONCE!"

"Of course master."

Scalpel opened the cage and shot Ron with a tiny electric shot from his finger. Ron dropped to the floor, unconscious. He picked up Ron, dropped down onto the floor, and walked into the lab with him. The Fallen turned to Starscream once more.

"Now Starscream. Here is your mission..."

When Thunderwing and his men approached the hanger, a drone was coming out of a Decepticon scout ship. He approached the war lord.

"Master Thunderwing! Your course is set to Earth. Good luck." he said and then bowed.

"Of course. Be on your way drone."

The drone stood at attention and left. The massive group of Decepticons boarded the ship. Thunderwing walked in first and saw the ship. It was built exactly like The Nemesis, but smaller. He went to the front of the ship and pushed a lever. The ship started up, and eventually took off, and flew off of Cybertron. His men were sitting around, talking. Thunderwing looked out the front window and into the deep space. He smiled, and then laughed an evil laugh.

_Chapter 3: A Friendly Visit_

It has been 3 months since the defense of Atlantis. Ken, Mike, and Marissa are still saddened by the kidnaping of their friend: Ron. They had also lost two very dear friends: Scattorshot and Prowl. They couldn't be more sad. Ken and Marissa were still dating, but it may have well be over. Ken wasn't exactly the nicest guy anymore.

He talks back to teachers, picks fights at school, get bad grades, and talks back to his own mother since his dad left when he was 10. He was still best friends with Mike, but he was getting farther and farther away from Marissa, the woman he loves. That was something Marissa was worried about. She loved him a lot, and didn't want it to end.

It was a normal day at school and everything was being normal. Ken was in study hall with Mike. They were working on reports about their favorite book. Marissa was at a table at the other side of the classroom, doing the same thing. Everything was quiet. Mike made some gestures and went to the teacher to ask to use the bathroom. Marissa found this as her chance to confront her boyfriend about the problem. She walked to him, and sat down, across from him.

"What is it Marissa?"

"You."

"What?"

"You've changed since the first battle!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do! You don't trust Optimus anymore! You told me! Plus, he knows too. He's worried about you. I'm worried about you."

"Please don't be. I can take care of myself."

"You think you can, but you can't! You need us more then you know!"

"Shut up Marissa."

"See? You're denying it! If only the Autobots knew about this! They could knock some sense into you!"

"Screw them. After school, when you go see them, tell them I quit. I'm done with this hero business."

Marissa was crying, and angry at the same time. Ken just focused on his work.

"I can't believe you Ken. We've been friends since the 2nd Grade, and you've never acted like this!"

"Times change."

"That's it! I've had it! We are through Ken! Maybe I'll take you back, when you decide to grow up!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

She stormed back to her desk and worked. Everyone was staring at Ken. He felt embarrassed. Mike, who just got back, stood next to him.

"I leave you alone for two minutes, and you go and brake up with Marissa?"

"Stuff happens."

Mike was getting mad at Ken for the attitude. Ken took off his gun bracelet and gave it to Mike.

"When you go to the base, give it to them. I quit."

Mike was speechless. Despite this, he put it into his bag.

"Why? Why are you doing this to yourself?" asked Mike in a upset tone.

"Because, I want a normal life. I don't want to give my life to robots that can repair themselves. I'm through with them."

"I see. Well, give me that communicator. I'm leader of our group now, since you're quitting."

"Fine." said Ken as he took of his watch and gave it to Mike.

"Now leave me be." he finished.

"Fine!" yelled Mike as he went and joined Marissa.

When school ended, he was all alone. Ron was somewhere on Cybertron with Megatron. Marissa and Mike weren't talking to him. He quit the Autobots, and worst off all, he lost the woman he loves. He was crying as he walked home. As he walked across the street, he turned and saw his two ex-best friends walking to the Autobot Base. He turned and forgot about it.

When he got home, he saw his mom sitting on the porch of their one story home. She was a tall woman; standing at 6'1. She had short black hair, and wore a red dress and heels. She was playing with her 4 year old daughter, Roxanne. He smiled and went to his mother.

"Hello dear. How was school?"

"Fine. Just lost my two best friends because of my attitude, but I'll be fine."

"I'm sorry dear. Dinners on the table if your hungry."

"Thanks mum. Hey there Roxy."

"Hey Ken." said the little girl.

He smiled and walked inside. As soon as he went inside, he entered the kitchen. He saw his dinner: cheeseburger with a side of macaroni and cheese and green beans. He sat down and started eating. He was happy that he could have a happy life without alien robots. The only thing was, he was involved in something so big, he couldn't quit even if he said he quits.

_Chapter 4: Hidden Ally_

As Thunderwings scout ship approached Earth, he addressed his men.

"Men! Lord Fallen has ordered us to take Earth modes before landing, so we don't scare humans. That comes later. Hahaha."

The others laughed. He continued.

"This computer will determine appropriate earth modes for all of us. Now, line up!"

They all lined up, with Thunderwing first and Vortex last. He pressed a button and a little aerial drone popped up and scanned each Decepticon. They each transformed. As they transformed, the drone went back into a little slot. Earth was in plain view and the ship was headed to the northern part of Earth.

Thunderwing transformed into a yellow F-14 Tomcat jet. Thrust transformed into a red and black F-15 Eagle jet. Blackout transformed into a black UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. Barricade transformed into a black and white Nissan GT-R. Sixshot transformed into a silver 2010 Kia Optima, a silver ground mounted laser cannon, a silver wolf, a silver tiger tank, and a silver F-20 Tigershark jet. Onslaught transformed into a blue and black World War 2 A.A. Truck. Brawl transformed into a brown Leopard Tank 2(with two tank snouts instead of one). Swindle transformed into a yellow and black Jeep Wrangler (with a gun in the back). Blast Off transformed into a black A.A. Cannon Tank. Finally, Vortex transformed into a gray AH-64 Apache helicopter.

When they had all transformed back, Thunderwing looked pleased.

"Good. Good. Now, we are close to the Arctic where our companion awaits. Now, before you go asking questions, know this. Our ally will be a great asset to us."

"My lord, we are nearing the site now." said Brawl.

"Good. Let us land, shall we?"

The ship flew up straight and proceeded down to the cold icy land mass. Its landing legs popped out and they landed safely. When it landed, the door opened and they all walked out into the frozen wilderness. Thunderwing looked around and examined the area.

"He's here. I smell him."

He walked around, trying to identify their friend. After a few steps, he stopped.

"Here! He is here boys!"

Thunderwing grabbed out a pen like weapon and pressed a button as his men approached. He pointed it at the ice, and made a big circle with the laser that came out of it. It was a big enough circle for someone to dive into the water below.

"Brawl! Help me lift this."

"Of course master." said Brawl as he ran to his leader.

They each lifted one end of the big chunk of ice, and threw it to the side. Thunderwing gazed down into the cold water and saw a shiny object directly below. He smiled.

"Blackout! Do you have cables on your alt mode?"

"Yes master. Why?" said Blackout as he took from his back, and held two long hooks attached to cables.

"Barricade, dive in and attach these hooks to the object below. Then, Blackout will transform and lift it up out of the water."

"Yes master!" said the two Decepticons.

Barricade took the hooks, ran to the hole, and jumped into the icy water. Normally the water would freeze anyone who entered, but Cybertronian armor was immune to cold temperatures. Barricade reached the object and saw a head. He was too busy to examine it himself. He attached the hooks to the shoulders of the head, and swam back up.

When he resurfaced, he dried off a little.

"All done master."

"Good. Blackout! Lift up our ally."

Blackout nodded. He transformed and flew up high. The cables started to scroll up. After a few minutes, the head surfaced. Followed by the shoulders, arms, torso, legs, and feet. Blackout carried it away from the hole, and on heavy ice. He released the cables, and transformed. The robot stood straight, gray and all, with its head down a little. When the Decepticons approached it, they were all shocked, except for Thunderwing. The robot didn't look like any Decepticon. It, in fact, looked like Optimus Prime!

"Gentlemen! I present to you, Nemesis Prime! Evil clone of Optimus Prime!"

They were all amazed by the clone. Thunderwing examined him very carefully. The clone was all deactivated. No spark and lifeless.

"He has no spark. He needs a spark!"

As that was said, a drone came out of the ship, with gun in hand.

"Kill the drone and give me his spark!" demanded Thunderwing.

"Wha?" said the drone as Swindle, Vortex, and Brawl came to him and tore him apart.

Swindle took out the drones spark and handed it to his master. He took the spark, opened Nemesis Primes chest, and placed it inside. He closed it. After a few seconds, Nemesis Primes eyes glowed a fiery red. He moved his arms, legs, and whole body and stretched. He sounded exactly like Optimus.

"It's good to be operational again! Who has resurrected me?"

"It is I: Thunderwing, War Lord and Strategist for the Decepticon Army! I welcome your return Nemesis." said Thunderwing as he bowed.

"Thank you for reviving me." said Nemesis.

Thunderwing rose.

"Do you remember the mission Lord Fallen gave you?"

"Yes. I was to come to Earth and kill all humans on the planet. My mission took a turn for the worst when I landed in this frozen wilderness. I landed in the water and froze for thousands of years."

"I see. Well, your mission is still the same Nemesis, and I hope you will aid us in our mission."

"Which is?"

"Our first mission was to find you and revive you. That is done. Now, we ask for you to join us in order to kill the Autobots and enslave humanity!"

"Why should I join you? I could kill you all with my power."

"Because, if you join us, we will let you kill your real self: Optimus Prime."

Nemesis thought for a minute.

"Fine. I will aid you, in the honor of Lord Fallen!"

"Good."

Thunderwing started talking to his wrist, which had a watch like thing on it.

"Lord Fallen, we have secured Nemesis Prime. Orders?"

"Go to Soundwave. He is on the planet. Space bridge to his lair and think of an attack that you can use against the Autobots!"

"Trust me my lord. We have ways of getting them to fight..."

_Chapter 5: Wounded Ally_

After a few weeks of no activity and curiosity, Optimus approached Mike and Marissa. They were talking to Arcee and Inferno. He gave them a gesture, and they went off doing Autobot work.

"Mike. Marissa. Have you two seen Ken anywhere? He hasn't been to the base in a few weeks."

Mike looked at Marissa. He stood up and got the communicator and bracelet gun out of his bag. He handed them to Optimus, who looked confused.

"Ken quit. He couldn't take it anymore."

Optimus bowed his head in sorrow.

"It's possibly my fault. If only I lived up to his expectations."

"No, Optimus!" said Marissa. "It is not your fault. Ken has changed since Atlantis. I don't know why, but we aren't friends anymore."

"I see. Come with me."

They followed Optimus to Wheeljack, who was working on something important.

"Wheeljack, how is it coming along?"

"All fine and dandy Optimus. Just gotta find the clues in this big pile of security codes for my lab on Cybertron."

"Alert me when it's up Wheeljack."

"Righty-o!"

The next few hours went by uneventful. As Wheeljack worked, Optimus was talking to Marissa about Ken. She told him about what they went through in their childhood, their school years, and extra things. He was surprised by what they went through and thought they were meant to be together.

"Heh. Maybe we are. The only way that'll happen, is if Ken straightens up!"

"I agree." said a eavesdropping Grapple.

Optimus wasn't paying attention. He was worried about Ken, and would do anything to make it up to him. He got up, and walked around the base, with his hand on his head, thinking.

"Optimus!" yelled Wheeljack.

Optimus ran to him.

"What is it? Decepticons?"

"No. We got four signals appearing on screen, and one of them has a weak energy reading."

"Location?"

"Ironically, outside the base!"

"Bumblebee! Open the door!"

Bumblebee ran to the door, input the code, and the door opened. A short and tall Autobot, one about as tall as Sideswipe, and the other as tall as Bumblebee. One was short and bulky. His face resembled a wrestler, and the same was said about his appearance. He had a color scheme of black and dark green. He even looked like he had a big chin. The other was all red, and appeared to have horns on the side of his head! There also appeared to be two magnum pistols sticking up from his back.

The next Autobot, who was black and red, had a samurai like helmet on with a upside down capital A as the main piece of the helmet. Pistol hung from both of his sides. He appeared to be carrying a red and white Autobot with big wings and a face mask like Optimus'. He also had a cone like head, with tall triangular things on his shoulder, buy they were standing straight up. The black and red Autobot quickly placed the wounded Autobot on a giant table.

Ironhide ran to the table.

"Powerglide! What happened to him, Quickswitch?"

"We found him like that on the way here." said the Autobot Quickswitch.

"Sunstreaker. Hardhead. Is this true?" asked Optimus.

Quickswitch had a intimidating look upon his face. He had a few cannon snouts on his arms and back. He was also a Six Changer like Sixshot. Ironically, the two were brothers. He could change into a mechanical tiger, YF-17 Cobra, a Challenger 1 tank, a Nissan Skyline GT-R, and a WW2 Artillery gun.

Powerglide was one of few Autobot aerialists. He transformed into an A-10 Thunderbolt II jet. He was a very cocky Autobot, but knew when he was bested. His main weapon of choice was a common cybertronian pistol. He laid on the table, weak and not moving a lot. He had an Irish accent.

Hardhead was the shortest of the new Autobots. He transformed into a cybertronian tank. In his robot mode, he had a tank snout on his right arm. In battle, he preferred to use his left hand, which turned into a massive ball that was so powerful, it could break steel. He had a tough guy accent.

Sunstreaker was a very nice looking Autobot. He was normally a good friend of Bumblebees, but there was times they were enemies. Sunstreaker was one of the fastest Autobots on Cybertron, but was only #5. He was a completely loyal soldier when it came to Optimus' leadership. He had an English accent.

Quickswitch nodded to Optimus.

"Yes Optimus, we were on our way here when we found Powerglide just on the ground, weak and near death. We was hoping you guys could heal him."

"Wheeljack, can you repair him?"

Wheeljack was using a welding torch on Powerglides weakened arm.

"I am trying as we speak Optimus. Shouldn't take more then a few minutes."

When Wheeljack finished welding Powerglides arm, he opened Powerglides chest and started connecting wires to Powerglides spark. After a few seconds, Powerglide started to stir.

"Ugh." moaned Powerglide.

He got up from the table and sat.

"Where am I?"

"You are aboard the Ark, my friend. These three brave Autobots brought you here." said Optimus.

"Really? Well, thank you guys."

Powerglide jumped off the table and cracked his neck. Hardhead stood in front of Powerglide.

"So? What happened Glide?"

The Autobots and humans stared at him, wondering the same.

"Fine. Well, three Earth days ago, me and my partner Mirage arrived on the planet. We went our separate ways because he had to do something. I was cruising near the Appalachian Mountains, when I noticed a jet behind me. I remained as I was, but that soon changed. The jet started to fire on me! Turns out, it was Sixshot!"

Quickswitch got to his feet.

"I was surprised too Quickswitch! He fired on me, and I couldn't shake him. So, I took a detour near here, and he shot one of my wings and I crashed. I knew I would blow up if I stayed in my jet mode, so I transformed and crashed into the Earth ground. I was knocked unconscious. I guess he thought I was dead. Next thing I know, I am here."

"Hmm... Interesting. Why would a Six Changer be on Earth?" wondered Optimus.

"Maybe... 'He' is here." said Wheeljack.

"Possible my friend. Very possible."

"Who are you talking about?" asked Mike.

"The Decepticon Warlord... Thunderwing." said Optimus.

"Who is he?" asked Marissa.

"He is a dangerous enemy. He carries out all executions whenever The Fallen isn't around. Mess with him, and you're as good as dead!" said Wheeljack.

"But why would he be on Earth?" asked Ironhide.

"We may find out soon Ironhide." answered Optimus.

_Chapter 6: Unlikely Ally_

The next few days were more then boring. Ken was enjoying his Sunday afternoon, by playing basketball with his neighbors. The score was 22-14, with Ken winning. After a few grueling hours, his mom came out with the phone in her hand.

"Ken! Phone call!" she yelled.

"Coming ma!" he yelled back.

He grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off his head and chest. He took the ohone and talked.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Nax."

"Who is this?"

"A friend. Someone close to you. Meet me at the cemetery in 15 minutes. Come alone."

Before he could answer, the stranger hung up. He thought about it, and thought it would be best to go to this stranger and see what he wanted. If not, he did know some fighting moves. He called to his mom.

"Ma! I'm heading to the cemetery for a bit. Paying respects to grandpa."

"Have fun dear!" she called from the kitchen.

After near 13 minutes of walking, he arrived at the lone cemetery. He looked around, but saw no one. He took some more steps and heard a familiar voice.

"I'm glad you came Ken. I need to talk to you"

"Who's there?"

The figure walked out of the deep trees. It was Optimus. He stood before Ken with sorrow in his robotic eyes.

"What do you want? Try to talk me back into your gang?"

"No Ken. The choice to leave was your own. I honor your choice. I wanted to talk to you about your problems."

"I have no problems."

"Mike and Marissa are worried about you. We are all worried about you."

"Why should I listen to you?"

"Months ago, before Ravage and Laserbeak attacked you and Marissa, I overheard you two. You said you didn't trust me anymore. I completely understand your reason, but... we need your help Ken."

"No you don't. Look Prime, this isn't and will never be my war."

"I fear it soon will be."

"Why do you say that?"

"The Decepticon War Lord Thunderwing is possibly on Earth. We need your help to defeat him."

"Your Optimus Prime! You don't need me! And I don't need you!" he yelled as he left.

"KEN! Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing. If you walk away, you are walking away from fate!" he yelled.

"GET OUT OF MY LIFE! I DON'T NEED YOU! AND YOU DON'T NEED ME!"

Optimus shook his head and muttered to himself:

"We do more then you know."

As Optimus walked into the Ark, he tried to forget the talk he had with Ken. He saw Wheeljack running to him.

"Optimus! We got us another signal! It is located somewhere north of here, in a forest."

"Autobots, Mike, Marissa... ROLL OUT!"

For 20 minutes, they drove on a busy highway to where the signal was. Wheeljack, who was ahead of Optimus, turned right and went straight into the forest. The others followed. This forest was more open the others they had seen, but it was deeper and darker. Wheeljack stopped and transformed. The others did as well. They saw what looked like a tiny circular spaceship, smoking.

"What do you make of it?" asked Arcee.

"Cybertronian Space Pod. I remember these all too well." explained Hardhead.

"Wheeljack. Open it up and examine its contents." said Optimus.

Wheeljack nodded. He carefully walked to the pod and examined it. The hatch door was open a little, probably due to the crash. He forced it open, and with all his might, jerked the hatch off its hinges. An unconscious Cybertronian fell out and landed on his face. Wheeljack looked at his body and made a grave discovery. He quickly got up and pulled out his gun.

"Optimus! It's a Decepticon!"

"Autobots! Humans! Draw weapons!" yelled Optimus.

They all aimed their guns at the Decepticon. It quickly stirred and got up, ignoring its pain. It stared at Optimus and the others.

"Who are you?" asked Wheeljack.

"I-I am... Jetfire." said the Decepticon.

"Why are you here?" asked Optimus.

"Rah. I was exiled from Cybertron for aiding an Autobot in the theft of The Fallens Energon Cubes."

"Who was your partner?" asked Bumblebee.

"The Autobot called Hot Shot."

They all fell silent. Inferno took it the hardest.

"Ah! You must be Inferno. Hot Shot spoke about you a lot. Said you were the bravest soldier he ever knew."

"Where is he?" asked a questioning Inferno.

"He was killed by Starscream before I was exiled."

Inferno grew angry.

"RAHHH! I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" screamed Inferno.

"Easy Inferno. Revenge will not bring our friends back." said Optimus.

Inferno backed off. Optimus stared more at Jetfire.

"Optimus, you and the Autobots must know about some information that I have stored in my memory banks." said Jetfire.

"Tell us, please."

"Are you aware that Thunderwing is on the planet?"

"We assumed so, but weren't sure. Do you know his plan?"

"Only one part of it. He plans to; and probably already has done so, resurrect Nemesis Prime."

"Nemesis Prime? What is that? Like an evil clone of Optimus?" asked Mike as he chuckled.

Jetfire stared at the human.

"The human is smart! Yes, yes, yes! Nemesis Prime was created when Optimus first became a Prime. After Sentinel died, The Fallen could sense a new Prime was chosen, so he made an evil clone of Optimus. It was sent to this exact planet 100,000 Earth years ago. Mission? To eradicate all life on the planet. It didn't go right, and Nemesis ended up crashing into the frozen waters of the Arctic Circle."

"Thunderwing must've been sent to revive Nemesis. I fear he has done so already and is planning an attack. Although, his second mission was to retrieve some item on this planet, but I don't know what is it or what it does. I DO know, it is supposed to be a mighty powerful weapon. We must find it before him!"

"We will Jetfire. I must ask... you seem to know the ins and outs of the Decepticons. Will you join us in fighting them?"

"OPTIMUS!" yelled Grapple.

"I would be honored Optimus. I can tell you anything you want to know."

"Good. Let us head back to base before we are found. Jetfire, Powerglide, Quickswitch! Fly back to base. We will meet you there."

The three aerialists nodded. They transformed and flew off.

"What now Optimus?" asked Sideswipe.

"Well Sideswipe, we protect our human companions with our lives. I fear that Thunderwing knows their identities."

"Even Ken?"

"Even Ken."

"Want me to go to his home and protect him?"

"Yes, but don't let him know. He is mad at me enough as it is."

Sideswipe nodded and transformed. He drove off out of the woods. Optimus and the others transformed, and went back to base.

_Chapter 7: A Furious Night_

At Soundwaves lair, a few days after the assault on Powerglide, Thunderwing made an announcement. He gathered all his minions and cleared his throat.

"Men. Since Sixshot was so kind to destroy an Autobot for us, I have decided that soon, the second part of my master plan will become reality."

"Which is?" asked Onslaught.

"Hahaha. I am glad you asked. Well, hidden somewhere near here, is an ancient Cybertronian Artifact that I created in the midst of the war. I demonstrated it to Lord Fallen, but he deemed it too powerful to use. So, I tossed it into space and have not seen it since."

"What if the Autobots find it before us?" asked Vortex.

"Heh. Nemesis will destroy them!"

"Thunderwing," interrupted Onslaught. "I have a plan."

"Let's hear it."

"Why not kidnap another of the chosen four? With one of them already in our possession, we can lure the others to us! Plus, we might have a better chance of finding the Key."

"Not a bad plan my friend. Now who will go..."

He walked around, looking at his men. Suddenly, Barricade spoke.

"I volunteer to accomplish this task my lord."

Thunderwing stared at Barricade.

"Hmm... All right. Heh... How can you possibly screw up catching an insect?"

The others laughed a little; even Soundwave. Thunderwing cleared his throat. They all went quiet. As they got quiet, a small black and purple flying Decepticon flew in. Its head was like a bats, but the body was like Laserbeaks, but the ends were curved like a bats. It even had an engine in the back. Its feet were even like a bat. Soundwave held out his arm. The Decepticon landed on his arm.

"Ratbat, report."

Ratbat transformed into a cassette tape and inserted into Soundwave. After a few seconds of transferring data, he announced the info.

"Ratbat has found home of the chosen human, Mike."

Soundwave transferred the location into Barricade.

"Shall I go lord?" asked Barricade.

"Yes. Do not fail me, Barricade."

He bowed. He transformed and space bridged out of the cave.

"Do you have confidence in him my lord?" asked Thrust.

"No. Although, maybe he may surprise us..."

At the Autobot base, the Autobots were working as they always did. Ironhide, Bumblebee, Inferno, and Hardhead were working hard on the engines. The others were either talking or inspecting their weapons. Optimus walked to Wheeljack.

"Wheeljack, any signs?"

"No Optimus. The Cons have been quiet for some time. This isn't like them."

"Yes. They must be planning something."

Mike came to Optimus.

"Optimus? I'm heading home. It's 9:00 PM and my parents will worried."

"I understand. Bumblebee!"

Bumblebee stopped his work and joined Optimus.

"Yes?"

"Take Mike home. Stay with him all night. You never know if the Decepticons will be looking for the humans."

"Yes sir, but what about the engine?"

"I'll work on it a little."

Bumblebee nodded. He transformed, and Mike got in. He drove out of the base and into darkness. After a few minutes of non stop talking, Bumblebee dropped off Mike at his home.

"I'll stay around your house in case and Cons show up."

"Thanks Bee."

"Sure thing."

As Mike walked into his house, which was surrounded by a three foot tall brick wall, Bumblebee drove around the block and kept on lookout. The last thing he heard, was the door slamming. Near the wall, a mysterious car sneaked near the house. It bore the Decepticon logo. It was Barricade.

"Lord Thunderwing. I have arrived. Orders?"

"Kidnap the human and kill any Autobots that you encounter. Remain stealthy."

"Yes my lord."

He carefully drove bear the nearest opening. He heard a car coming toward him. He quickly went in reverse and blended into the shadows of darkness. He saw Bumblebee pass him and then pass the corner. Barricade transformed into his robot mode and quietly walked to the brick wall. He hopped over the wall and stumbled. He heard Bumblebee approaching. He stayed below the wall to avoid being seen. When Bumblebee went around the corner, he looked around the house for the human. No luck.

He looked in a window and saw Mike setting his things down. He breathed heavy on the window and quickly hid, because Mike suddenly looked at the window. He opened it and looked outside. He saw nothing, but cool evening air. He shrugged and went back inside. Barricade came out of hiding and stared into the room. Mike was getting stuff out of his bag and had his back turned to the window.

"Come here!" yelled Barricade. As he went to grab Mike.

Mike turned around a second too late. Barricade had a hold of him and brought him toward him. He put Mike into a seat that was part of his body and transformed.

"BUMBLEBEE!" yelled Mike.

Barricade drove off and Bumblebee just happened to hear him and took off after him.

"Optimus. Optimus, come in. This is Bumblebee."

After a few minutes of chasing Barricade and trying to reach Optimus, he got through.

"Go ahead Bumblebee."

"Mike's been captured by a Con. I'm chasing after them."

Another call came in.

"Prime, I just dropped off Marissa. Want me to assist Bee?"

"Affirmative Ironhide. Be careful you two."

Mike was scared. He looked out the back window and saw Bumblebee chasing him.

"Come on Bee. Come on." he thought.

"SILENCE!" yelled Barricade.

The chase went on for a few more minutes through the streets of Diamond Falls. Barricade saw an exit that led to the highway.

"My ticket out of here!"

As he was about to go into the highway, Ironhide popped out of a corner and grabbed the grill of Barricades car mode. As it happened, Barricade opened his doors and ejected Mike out, and he landed on the soft grass and saw the fight. He backed off as Ironhide threw Barricade, with all his strength, really high. Bumblebee arrived and transformed.

As Barricade rolled in thin air, he transformed to avoid collateral damage. As he landed, he scooted across the grass. He grabbed out his energy mace and his grenade pistol. He was ready for a fight.

"Bee, lets work together!" said Ironhide.

Bumblebee nodded.

"RAHHH!" yelled Barricade as he swung the mace madly at Bumblebee.

He fired a few grenades at Ironhide, which only a few hit him. Ironhide quickly barrel rolled a few times to avoid the shots.

"Give me the human! Lord Thunderwing needs him!"

"In your dreams!" said Bumblebee.

Bumblebee was careful to avoid Barricades mace. In an unfortunate turn of events, Bumblebee was hit by the mace was sent flying a few feet. Barricade walked dramatically over to Bumblebee, who was groveling in pain. He aimed his grenade pistol at Bumblebees head and laughed.

"Time...to...DIE!"

The second before he fired, he got a tap on his shoulder. Barricade looked confused.

"WHAT?" he yelled as he turned around.

Ironhide was a few feet from him, with his shotgun aiming at him. He fired.

"ARGH!"

The shot blasted the right part of his face and the top of his shoulder. Barricade walked away a little. Ironhide shot him in his side and his leg. Barricade was in more pain.

"Y-You'll pay for this Ironhide! You all will!" he yelled as he transformed and drove off.

Ironhide and Mike ran to Bumblebee.

"Bee! You ok?" asked Ironhide.

"Yeah. It'll take more then a mace to put me down."

They all laughed.

"What now?" asked Bumblebee.

Mike pressed his watch.

"Optimus, come in. This is Mike."

"Go ahead. Are you safe?"

"Yeah. Thanks to Bumblebee and Ironhide. You were right. Thunderwing IS on the planet."

"I was afraid of that. Bumblebee will take you home, then they both will report back to base. We need to figure out what they are up to."

"Roger."

_Chapter 8: Autobots Secret Weapon_

When Barricade arrived back at the base a few hours later, Thunderwing was in a chair, eating an Energon cube. He put it down and stood up.

"Barricade. I welcome your return."

"Thank you my lord."

"Where is the human?"

"I-I don't have him, master."

"Oh? Why not?" said Thunderwing as he walked behind Barricade.

"I had the human. I truly did. The only thing, was that I was attacked by two Autobots. The one called Ironhide did this to me." he said as he panned his body.

The other Decepticons came close. Thunderwing chuckled to himself.

"You know, I don't know how to express myself now."

"My lord. I will gladly accept that you turn me into a drone. It is the least you could do after my failed mission."

"Megatron would do that. Not me. Your punishment will be worse then a measly demotion."

Thunderwing took out his gun. He loaded it. Barricade could obviously hear it and he went down on his knees. He unequipped all his weapons and threw them aside. He looked at Blackout, who in return, turned his back on his former partner. Barricade grieved. Thunderwing aimed his gun at Barricades back and fired. He fell onto the cold floor, still moving, but not much. Thunderwing aimed it at Barricades head and fired one last shot. Barricade was dead.

Thunderwing blew the smoke off his gun and put it away. He walked to the back wall, where a lone Autobots was hanging by energon chains. This Autobot was the same size as Ironhide, but red and blue. His face was like a humans, but more metal. He spoke with an Italian accent. Thunderwing grabbed a hold of the Autobots chin and held on.

"You see? This is what is going to happen to you very soon!"

"You won't get away with this Thunderwing. Optimus will rescue me!"

"Haha. He doesn't even know you're on the planet."

The Autobot fell silent.

"What is your name, Autobot?"

"Mirage."

"That's good."

He let go of Mirage and sat back down.

"Blackout! Take this failures corpse and dispose of it."

Blackout nodded and picked up his former ally. He carried it outside.

"Now," started Thunderwing. "To plan an attack on Optimus..."

The next day, at Autobot HQ, Bumblebee was telling the others about last night. Even Ironhide told a little of the story. While that was going on, Marissa was enjoying a friendly conversation with Optimus, when Wheeljack came bursting in.

"Autobots! Quick! I have a plan!"

"What is it?" asked Optimus.

"I got to thinking... Thunderwing has powerful minions at his disposal right?"

"Yes."

"Well, I came up with a plan to increase our ranks." he said as he held five cubes.

"Show us Wheeljack."

He nodded. He placed the cubes, which were the size of a small car, on the floor some feet apart. He touched each of them once, and they transformed. Instead of cubes, there were armored drones! They all had the same appearance and were all the same height. One was silver and yellow, another was red and silver, another was red, blue, yellow, and silver, another was black and silver, and the last one was blue and silver.

"Drones won't help us Wheeljack." said Optimus.

"Watch."

He inserted chips into their neck one by one. When he finished, the drones started to shake. They suddenly transformed into dinosaurs! One was a T-Rex, another was a Stegosaurus, another was a Apatosaurus, another was a Triceratops, the last one was a Pteranodon.

"SUCCESS!" yelled Wheeljack.

The five dinosaurs stood there. Optimus examined them.

"Why did you choose these alt modes for them?"

"I researched powerful creatures on this earth and 'dinosaurs' came up, so I used the five most common ones, and voila!"

"Names?" asked Optimus.

"From left to right: Grimlock, Slag, Snarl, Sludge, and Swoop. I call them... Dinobots."

"Impressive Wheeljack. Why do you say they will help?"

"Watch this."

Wheeljack grabbed Optimus' pistol and fired it at Grimlock. It bounced off his armor and disappeared in thin air.

"Ingenious! Thunderwing won't know what hit him!" said Ironhide.

"What kind of abilities do they have?" asked Optimus.

"Well," said Wheeljack. "In Dinosaur mode, they have flamethrowers inside their mouths. In their robot mode, they are equipped with magnum pistols."

"As leader of the Autobots, I approve of this. Do they talk?"

"Of course."

Wheeljack approached Grimlock.

"Grimlock, speak!"

The Dinobot shook his head.

"Grimlock no wanna speak! Grimlock no take orders from you!" he said with a rough kind of voice.

"Grimlock, I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. And we-"

"We no take orders from you!" said Swoop, who had a high voice.

"That's right!" said Snarl who's voice was a little deeper.

"We command ourselves!" said Slag. Who's voice was similar to Grimlock, but less rough.

"Tacos!" said Sludge, who's voice was a little higher.

The other Dinobots ignored Sludge. Optimus was getting frustrated.

"Grimlock, I am leader of the Autobot army. If you do not comply, Wheeljack will be forced to deactivate you. Understand?"

"Grimlock no care! We superior to Autobots!"

Optimus nodded. Wheeljack grabbed a controller and pressed a button. All five Dinobots stood motionless.

"What now Optimus?" asked Wheeljack.

"Fix there personality circuits. We may need them after all."

Wheeljack nodded. He, Grapple, Inferno, and Sunstreaker worked on the Dinobots.

_Chapter 9: Hidden Secret_

After a few days of hard work, The Autobots successfully reprogrammed the Dinobots. They acted much differently now then before.

"Grimlock, are you feeling better?" asked Optimus.

"Grimlock feel fine. What now?"

"I appoint you, Grimlock, leader of the Dinobots."

"Thank you Optimus Prime. We no fail you!"

"Good."

The rest of the day went by normal for them all. The moment everyone had waited for was finally here.

"Optimus, I've decoded the cybertronian text! We can no find out where the Key is hidden."

"Excellent Wheeljack! What is the code?"

"Well, all together is reads: _In the land of power, underneath the tall stone, lies a powerful force, that may destroy all._"

"What does that mean Optimus?" asked Arcee.

"I don't know. We may not have much time to find out."

After all that disregard, Ironhide and Marissa approached Optimus.

"Prime, I am taking Marissa on a walk."

"That's fine. Be careful you two."

"Aren't I always?" he laughed as they walked out.

20 minutes later, Marissa was driving along a highway, sticking her head out the window, enjoying the breeze. She inhaled the fresh air with happiness.

"Marissa?" asked Ironhide.

"Yes?"

"Why DID Ken leave?"

She explained how Ken didn't trust Optimus anymore and that this war was too much for him.

"He IS aware that even though he left, the Decepticons will still be after him?"

"I don't know. Wanna turn here and take a walk in the woods?"

"Sure."

Ironhide turned and the went deep into the woods. She got out for a nice walk. Ironhide transformed and joined her. After a few minutes of mindless talking, Marissa spotted something.

"Is that a cave Ironhide?"

Ironhide looked where she was pointing.

"It appears so. Wanna go check it out?"

Marissa nodded. They walked toward the cave, not knowing what they'll find. When they walked inside the cave, there was darkness. They couldn't see their hands in front of their noses. Ironhide turned on his headlights, so that they would get some light. As they walked, they saw symbols on the walls; Cybertronian symbols to be exact! Ironhide couldn't read them, since the symbols were more Decepticon like.

The cave went on for a few more yards before they hit a dead end.

"Dead end. Lets go back." said Ironhide.

Marissa pressed her ear against the wall. She picked some of the wall away and saw a room on the other side!

"Ironhide! Blast the wall."

"Why?"

"There is a room on the other side!"

"Really?"

Ironhide grabbed his shotgun and aimed it at the wall. He pulled the trigger, and when it hit the wall, the wall crumbled down to little pebbles. Marissa coughed as she blew away the dust that surrounded them. When it cleared, they saw what appeared to be a giant room. They entered. Ironhide equipped his shotgun just incase.

Neither one of them said anything. It was as quiet as a church on Sunday. Marissa looked curiously at a metal ball on a stand that was a few yards away from them. The darkness hid its true colors, but it appeared to have 5 holes in it, as if someone was to put their fingers in it. She quickly ran to it and inspected it.

"What is it?"

Ironhide came from behind her and inspected it as well.

"I have no idea what it is. Appears to be 500 years old."

She extended her hand and went to touch it. Ironhide blocked the object from her with his hand.

"No. We have no idea what it is."

"So, what will we do now?"

"Report this to Prime. He may know what it is."

"I got an idea." she said as she took out her cell phone.

She turned on her cells camera and took a picture of the metal ball. She flipped her phone off and her and Ironhide headed for the exit. When they got out, Ironhide transformed and Marissa got in. As he drove off, two red and evil eyes watched from a dark corner in a tree. Ratbat undid his wings and flew off.

_Chapter 10: Retrieval _

When Ratbat got back to the ship, Soundwave was waiting for him.

"Report Ratbat." said Soundwave.

Ratbat was talking to his master in some Cybertronian language.

"Well Soundwave? What does he say?" asked Thunderwing.

"Ratbat reports that Autobot and human may have found your item, Thunderwing."

"Excellent. What are the coordinates?"

Ratbat spoke in the unknown language again.

"Ratbat says the item is located inside a cave, two miles away from the town of Diamond Falls."

"Excellent, my little spy. You have done well." he said as he petted Ratbats head.

"Orders Thunderwing?" asked Soundwave.

"Eject Ravage."

Soundwave pressed a button on his chest.

"Ravage. Eject."

Ravage came out and transformed. Thunderwing bent down to him.

"Ravage. I have a mission for you. You are to go to this cave that is two miles away from Diamond Falls. Stay hidden and hope that the Autobots find my item. When they find it, come back so we can... negotiate."

Ravage nodded, transformed and flew out the window and toward his goal.

"Decepticons! Prepare your weapons. We may go to war soon."

They all nodded. Thunderwing smile an evil grin, as if he had a diabolical plan in mind.

A few hours after their discovery, Ironhide and Marissa got back to Optimus and the others.

"Prime! We got something to show you!"

"What is it Ironhide?" Optimus asked as he ran from the computer.

"Marissa has it on her 'phone.'"

She held out her cell phone and went through it. She found the picture of the sphere and showed it to Optimus, who bent down to see it.

"Hmm... I have no idea what it is. Lets hook it up to Teletraan 1."

Wheeljack took the phone, and hooked it up. A few seconds later, the picture appeared on screen.

"Sweet Primus! Is that? No, it can't be!" yelled Wheeljack.

"What is it Wheeljack?"

The other Autobots and Mike gathered around.

"This spherical ball is an Energon Harvester. It was created by Thunderwing a long time ago. The Fallen thought it was too powerful to be used and made Thunderwing destroy it."

"But he didn't! It's here! On Earth!" argued Marissa.

"Yes. He must have ejected it out into space. Years later, it must have landed inside this cave."

"What exactly does it do?" asked Mike.

"My guess is, that it can absorb the energon inside a living being. What you humans don't know, is that you have energon inside you. Although, it's different from ours."

"How so?" asked Marissa.

"When we get energon sucked out of us, we are gone. The only thing left behind is out metal armor. An empty shell. When you have it absorbed, you disappear completely."

"Wow. Sounds bad."

"It is."

The Autobots stood around, quiet. They tried not to think of what would happen if Thunderwing got his hands on the Harvester. Optimus stood firm.

"We must go and secure it. We must not let them get a hold of it." said Optimus.

"I agree." said Arcee.

"Inferno, Hardhead, and Grapple... You three will stay here with the Dinobots in case anything bad happens."

"You can count on us Optimus!" said Inferno.

"Autobots, Roll Out!"

They all transformed and when the humans got into their partners, they took off with Ironhide leading. Ravage had finally got to the cave before the Autobots. When he saw it, he transformed. He looked around and saw no living soul. He scanned the area for hiding places.

After a few short minutes he found one, and not a moment to soon. He heard vehicles approaching him. He quickly hid behind a shaggy bush and remained quiet.

The Autobots finally got there and transformed.

"This is it Prime. The cave where we found it." said Ironhide.

"I see. Autobots, tread carefully. We do not know what awaits for us inside."

They all agreed. They all walked slowly into the dark cave. Optimus led, while Bumblebee was the last to enter. After a few moments, Ravage came out and followed them stealth like, hiding in the shadows and using the cold murky cave air to his advantage. While they

walked, Bumblebee turned around a few times as if he felt that they were being followed. He just shrugged it off and kept up with the others.

When they finally got to the room, torches were lit up on the walls.

"Easy Autobots. Don't touch anything." said Optimus.

Wheeljack hurried past Optimus to investigate the Energon Harvester. The others just looked around the room, looking for clues. Wheeljack spent the next few minutes examining the Harvester. Ravage, on the other hand, was at the entrance, cloaked in shadows. He was signaling the base and transmitting what they were saying back to Soundwave.

"Well Wheeljack? Is it Thunderwings Harvester?" asked Optimus.

"It is. I remember seeing pictures of this thing when I was studying under Ratchet. It's amazing it is still here after all these years. We must take it back so I can examine it!"

"Permission granted. We need to keep it out of Thunderwings evil hands."

Wheeljack put both hands on the sphere and picked it up. Nothing happened. It was as quiet as space. Bumblebee happened to look over at the entrance and saw something move. He put on his lights and saw Ravages head.

"Optimus, Its Ravage!" he yelled as he quickly got out his pistol and fired.

"No Bumblebee! You will-" but he was interrupted by the sudden noise of a cave collapsing.

Ravage transformed and took off out of the cave and back to HQ.

"Autobots! Run before we are buried underneath this rock!" yelled Optimus.

They all ran toward the exit and they had all escaped without and deaths or injuries. When they got a whiff of fresh air, Quickswitch smacked Bumblebee in the back of his head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For almost killing us, you dolt!"

"Stop it Quickswitch! He just saw a Con and fired. You would've done the same." said Sunstreaker.

"He has a point Quickswitch. Now, we must get the sphere back to HQ. We may have to take it apart and examine it." said Optimus.

"Sorry Bee." said Quickswitch sadly.

"Its ok. Wasn't the first time. Haha."

Quickswitch smiled. The all transformed and drove off with the sphere in the back of Ironhides truck mode.

_Chapter 11: A Hasty Bargain _

A few days after the received the Energon Harvester, the Autobots were busy preparing for the worst. Wheeljack had tried to examine it, but the technology was something that Thunderwing himself had developed. So, all in all... tearing it apart was impossible without its inventor. What would they do?

At The Nemesis, Thunderwing was organizing his data on what they found.

"At last!" he cried. "We have found my Harvester! The only thing is, the Autobots have it! GAH!"

"My master, why not...trade?" suggested Thrust.

Thunderwing swung his arm in rage at Thrust, but slowed down as he took the idea into thought.

"Trade? What could we tra-" he stopped and looked at Mirage. "Ah! Good idea Thrust! We will trade their puny Autobot ally for the Harvester. Yes... it's foolproof! Optimus wouldn't want one of his men to perish at our hands."

"Orders Thunderwing?" asked Soundwave.

Thunderwing was thinking, when the computer went off. A signal had been found.

"What is it Soundwave?"

"It appears a human as been found in the town of Diamond Falls."

"May I cease and capture my master?" asked Blackout.

"No need Blackout. I have a better idea. I may need your help with it though, Blackout."

"I live to serve." he said as he bowed.

"Eject Ratbat."

Soundwave nodded.

"Ratbat. Eject."

Ratbat ejected and transformed. He flew onto Soundwaves shoulder. Thunderwing held out his arm and Ratbat knew what to do. He flew to Thunderwings arm and landed.

"Blackout, Ratbat, I have jobs for you."

"Of course my master."

"Here's the plan"

A few hours later, Optimus was pacing, thinking of what to do. Wheeljack was handing Ironhide a new upgraded shotgun.

"This new shotgun can now fire five shots instead of one! Plus, I got you some ion grenades I made just for you."

"Thanks Jack. I'm sure the Cons will run in fear when they see this baby!"

Bumblebee was working at Teletraan 1 when a message came in.

"Optimus, incoming message!"

"Play it Bumblebee!"

The others came to the computer when Bumblebee was able to get the message up. It was Thunderwing.

"Thunderwing. What do you want?" snarled Wheeljack.

"Hahahaha. Is that anyway to treat a guest of this planet?"

"Shut it Decepticreep!" yelled Ironhide.

"Easy Ironhide. What do you want from us?" asked Optimus.

"My Energon Harvester. I need it back this instant!"

"Never! We won't give you a terrible weapon that YOU created!" said Arcee.

"I thought you would say that. If you won't give it to me out of generosity, then I propose a trade."

"You have nothing we want!" said Grapple.

"Oh, I beg to differ." he said as his men put a chained up Mirage onto the screen.

"MIRAGE!" yelled Powerglide.

"Yes. Your beloved soldier. Trade me the Harvester for this Autobot, or my friend Onslaught will kill him. I await your answer at the abandoned junkyard near Diamond Falls in thirty minutes."

The screen went blank. The Autobots looked at Optimus.

"Well?" asked Bumblebee.

"Prime, we can't let them have the Harvester. It would be suicide!" said Ironhide.

"Thunderwing knows me. He knows I would never give up a life for something as powerful as this Harvester. I am sworn to protect all sentient beings, whether they be human or our own. We must trade the Harvester for Mirage."

"But Optimus!" shouted Arcee.

"No arguing Arcee. My decision is final."

"I understand Optimus. Mirage would do the same for us. What about the Dinobots?" said Wheeljack.

"If we are in trouble, we will signal them when we need assistance." said Optimus.

"I can't wait to get my revenge on the Decepticreep that kidnaped Mirage!" said Powerglide.

Optimus looked at him with pity.

"Powerglide, revenge will not bring you peace. Whether we use revenge in a good or bad way, it will never bring back our fallen friends or those who change. Autobots, Roll Out!"

When Marissa and Mike got into their guardians. Meanwhile, Ken had just gotten home from a boring day of working at a restaurant. As he walked in, he could feel something was wrong.

"Mom? MOM? YOU HOME?" he yelled.

No answer. He check many rooms, but no luck. His sister was at Day Care, so he was alone. Finally, he heard stuff being knocked over in the living room. He hurried to the room, hoping it was his mom. It wasn't. Instead of his loving mother, he saw, on the table, the horrible figure of Ratbat.

_Chapter 12: The Rescue_

When he saw the ugly Decepticon, he yelled.

"What the hell? I gave up this whole 'saving the world' shit! Get out of here!"

Ratbat screeched and gave a hiss. He dropped a little pad before flying out the window

wince he came through. Ken walked carefully to the pad and picked it up. It had a plain screen and a PLAY button. He pressed it. It was static at first, but then a clear voice came through.

"Hello, Ken. Yes, I know your name. I know that you are one of the four chosen humans... I am Thunderwing, Decepticon Warlord and Strategist. I also know that you 'chose' to stop helping Optimus Prime. Let me be the first to tell you, that when involved in our war, you STAY

involved. Now, to business... We have captured your 'mother' and are planning to kill her. She is located at the old warehouse on the edge of your pitiful Diamond Falls. My... assistant is waiting

for you there. Either you come and die, or you will grieve in the tragic death of your mother because you were too cocky, and too scared to save her. The choice is yours, my friend."

The message stopped.

"Damn it!" he yelled. "Why are they still after me even though I quit?"

He looked at a cracked picture of his mother and cried.

"I'm coming mom!" he yelled as he ran out the door.

When the Autobots got to the junkyard, Mike and Marissa got out and inspected their weapons. They had full clips and a good amount of ammo. The Autobots did the same. Ironhide was looking around, feeling concerned.

"Prime, when do you suppose they will get here?"

"I do not have an answer for you Ironhide. It may be soon." said Optimus.

As he said that, he heard jets coming at them. They was four of them, and they were accompanied by two tanks, a Jeep, and a truck. The four jets transformed, and Thunderwing,

Thrust, Sixshot, and Vortex stood before them. The Autobots could see that the truck had Mirage tied up in the back. The Jeep transformed to reveal Swindle, who untied Mirage from his partners back, and secured the Autobot. The truck transformed to reveal Onslaught. The two tanks transformed and Brawl and Blast Off appeared. Lastly, Ratbat came and landed on Thrusts shoulder.

"Optimus. You came." said Thunderwing.

"You know me better then that Thunderwing."

"Yes. Yes I do. The Harvester?"

Wheeljack handed Optimus the Harvester and he stepped forward. Thunderwing took Mirage by his cuffs and moved him forward. When Optimus and Thunderwing were inches from each other, Thunderwing used his key to unlock the cuffs binding Mirage. Thunderwing pushed him forward. Mirage then looked at Optimus, who nodded and sat his hand on Mirages shoulder.

Mirage smiled and ran to his Autobot brothers. Optimus gave a unruly look at Thunderwing, and gave him the Harvester. Thunderwing held his creation in his hands and it up. Optimus quickly ran to his men.

"Finally! My Energon Harvester is back where it belongs! Now, since its been away for so long, how about a little... test?"

Thunderwing looked at the Autobots. He put all 5 of his fingers in the holes that were imprinted on the sphere.

"Who's first?" he asked with an evil tone.

The Autobots looked at each other, then to Optimus.

"What will we do?" asked Jetfire.

"No one is going to-" said Optimus before he was stopped by Grapple.

"I will do it Optimus."

"No. I forbid it." said Optimus.

"Optimus, I am just slowing you all down." he said before her turned to his mentor.

"My master, my best friend, you are like a father to me. Wheeljack... this is something I have to do. For the sake of the Autobots, for the humans."

"I understand. I will miss you Grapple. You have been a great apprentice." said Wheeljack as he patted Grapple on the shoulder.

Grapple walked past Optimus who was unsure about it. He walked toward Thunderwing.

"Take your best shot Thundercreep!" he screamed as he held out his arms.

"With pleasure." said Thunderwing.

He pressed a button on the Harvester and a roaring sound was released, like a thunderous boom. Five antennas came out of the Harvester and surgically formed a white energy into a single form. It launched at Grapple and hit him square in his chest. The other Autobots watched in horror as their comrades Energon was being sucked out of him and into Thunderwings terrible machine. After a few more tense seconds, it was done. Grapples eyes were deep black, and his whole body had turned gray. He started to crumble as his armor fell off and all that was left, was just an empty shell.

"Hahahaha! It works! Now, before I do it some more, I have a surprise for you all. This will even surprise you Optimus!"

Thunderwing snapped his fingers and a black and white Big Rig drove by and stopped by Thunderwing. The truck transformed and Optimus and the others saw the terrible figure, of Nemesis Prime.

Meanwhile, Ken had finally got to the warehouse where his mother was being held captive by a Decepticon. The warehouse was two stories tall, and the windows were shattered, as

if some rowdy kids threw rocks at them. Although, that was very common in Diamond Falls. Ken walked around and eventually found a door to go through. He opened it cautiously and entered.

The inside was dark. Not as dark as a cave, but the windows shed some light into the room. Ken looked around.

"Mom!" he yelled. "Mom! Mom, where are you?"

The warehouse lights suddenly turned on. He looked around to see who turned them on. It was no one. He breathed heavily at the thought of finding his mother dead. That wasn't the case

when he heard a clatter. He quickly looked up at a railing and saw his mom hanging by some rope. Her mouth was taped up to prevent her from screaming. She looked as if she was crying, but

they may have been tears of joy. Ken didn't know that, since he wasn't thinking about it. He felt he wasn't alone. He wasn't.

From the shadows of the far back of the warehouse, Blackout came. Ken looked n horror as the massive Decepticon stared at him. Ken staggered back, but ended up tripping. He feel hard on his butt, but Blackout stared more at him.

"Are you the human Ken?" said Blackout in a growly voice.

"Yeah? What's it to you?"

Blackout grew mad.

"If you don't cooperate, I will send your mother into a deep pool of acid."

Ken gulped.

"F-Fine. What do you want from me?"

"You... dead."

Blackout reached for Ken, but he ran for it.

"Get back here!" yelled Blackout.

Ken ran to many corners of the warehouse, but Blackout caught up to him in only a few steps. Ken was running out of ideas. He quickly climbed a latter, which was below where his mother was. He looked around and found a steel pipe that had an edge that looked like a dagger. He quickly grabbed it to defend himself with. He turned around and saw Blackouts ugly face.

"Why you running? I just wanna kill you. It won't hurt... much! Hahahahaha!"

Ken grew mad. He threw the pipe at Blackouts face and it hit him in his eye. It shattered.

"RAHH! SON OF A PRIMUS! YOU HIT ME IN MY DAMN EYE!" he yelled as he held his eye into place.

"What now?" he yelled at the Decepticon. He felt a sense of achievement in what he did.

His happiness grew to a frown when Blackout pulled out his own eye and threw it to the ground. Blackout grabbed his gun and aimed it at Ken at close range.

"This... IS FOR MY DAMN EYE, YOU WORM! NOW DIE!"

Before he had a chance to fire, they all heard what sounded like a car, approaching fast. Before they knew it, a tank like vehicle crashed through the warehouse and landed feet from Blackout. Ken looked at the tank car with awe.

"Is that the new Batmobile from the Batman films?" yelled Ken.

The Batmobile transformed into a Cybertronian, the size of Blackout. It was equipped with lots of weaponry, like flamethrowers, machine guns, rocket launchers, etc. It kinda looked like a cross between an armored Cybertronian and one without the armor.

"Pickin' on poor little humans Decepticreep? Why don't ya try a real challenge?" it spoke with a redneck accent.

"I don't know who you are, but your dead!"

"Big talk coming from a Cybertronian cyclops. Haha."

"THAT DOES IT!"

Blackout aimed his gun at the strange Cybertronian and fired. It dodged it and quickly went up to Blackout and kicked his legs so hard, he fell. Blackout yelled in pain. He was on his knees. The Cybertronian came behind him and grabbed both his arms and pulled back as his foot pushed against Blackouts back.

"PLEASE STOP! I GIVE, I GIVE!"

With one final pull, both Blackouts arms came off. He yelled in pain. The strange bot threw them aside. It then grabbed a blade from out of his back and held it next the Cons head.

"Bye-bye." he said as he swung.

Blackouts head came clean off. The head rolled to the strangers foot, who in response, smashed it into a million piece with his foot.

_Chapter 13: Prime vs Prime_

Before Ken arrived at the warehouse, the Autobots looked at Nemesis in awe. They looked at him, and to Optimus.

"Optimus! That Con looks a little... like YOU?" said Bumblebee.

"Yeah. Only black and white." said Arcee.

"Time to meet your end, Optimus." said Thunderwing.

"Except, it'll be YOUR end, Thunderwing. And no clone is going to stop me!" said Optimus.

"We shall see about that. Sixshot! Go!"

Sixshot quickly transformed into his wolf mode and ran up a pile of junk, jumping small gaps in the process. The Autobots watched as he got to the top and transformed into his Laser Cannon mode. He started firing at the Autobots, who barrel rolled out of the way. They managed to get behind some heavy junk. Thunderwing, Nemesis, and the others fired on them. They were pinned down with no hope of fighting back.

"Optimus! Permission to throw smoke grenade?" yelled Bumblebee.

"Permission granted!" yelled Optimus.

As Bumblebee got out his smoke grenade, Optimus looked at Quickswitch.

"Quickswitch, can you use your tiger mode and try and lure your brother away? We'll cover you!"

"Right, Optimus!" said Quickswitch.

Bumblebee threw the grenade very far, almost to where the Cons were standing. It exploded and smoke was everywhere. Thunderwing grew frustrated.

"Curse you Autobots! Cheap trick!"

Quickswitch transformed to his tiger mode and ran off to the junk pile. Optimus and the others peeked up and fired on Thunderwing and his men, who managed to get behind some junk as cover. Optimus managed to hit Nemesis a few times, before he ran out of ammo. Quickswitch jumped piles of junk before he got to his brother. Sixshot didn't even notice. He was to bust firing on the Autobots.

Quickswitch transformed into his tank mode and fired multiple rounds onto his brother. All shots hit and he was mortally wounded. He transformed back and so did Quickswitch. His

brother had no legs and one arm. He was begging for mercy. Quickswitch walked to his brother and placed his foot on Sixshots chest.

"This is what happens when you side with the Decepticons, brother."

"Kill me then! What good will it do though? Who will you be without me?"

"Time to find out."

He grabbed his pistol and fired it at his brothers head. Sixshot had a huge hole all the way through his forehead. Sixshot was dead by his own brothers hand. He ran to the edge and saw Nemesis at the lead.

"Die, Optimus!" shouted Nemesis Prime.

"He sounds exactly like Optimus, only with a deeper voice." Quickswitch said to himself.

He grabbed out his best gun and fired at Nemesis. The blast hit Nemesis square in the chest. He held his chest in pain. He looked to see where the shot came from, and looked up. He saw Quickswitch reloading his gun.

"Autobot scum!" yelled Nemesis.

He fired his pistol at the junk and it blew up like a volcano. Quickswitch just happened to transform into his jet mode and fly off as the shot hit. Nemesis saw this and still fired shots at Quickswitch. Luckily for him, a shot hit the Autobots left wing. He started to roll down to the ground, but transformed before he hit. He was lying on his back, disfigured and woozy. Nemesis laughed and had a thought. He transformed and took off to the west, near the mountain where the Autobot base was.

"Autobots, keep firing on them! I'm going after Nemesis!"

"We can't afford to lose you Optimus!" yelled Hardhead.

"Don't worry. Ironhide will lead you if I perish." he said as he transformed and drove after Nemesis.

As he drove farther from the battle, Optimus grew concerned. What if he fell to his own copy? Would the earth be doomed? He didn't have these thoughts in his head for long, as Nemesis stopped at a rocky wall and transformed. He was more then a mile away from his target.

"Optimus! Can you really hope to defeat me? A creation of Lord Fallen, the most powerful force in the universe?"

"I'm coming for you Nemesis!" yelled Optimus as he ventured closer.

Nemesis prepared for a fight as his Original came closer. Optimus transformed and ran toward Nemesis. He tackled Nemesis and they both crashed through the wall, and into the inactive volcano of Diamond Falls. Even though it was inactive, there was still plenty of lava pools and even a river of lava. They rolled around the cave, punching each other when they had the chance.

Nemesis managed to push Optimus off of him. They both stood up, and their mouth covers automatically equipped. Optimus grabbed out his ax and was ready.

"Optimus. Can you really hope to kill me? Your own brother?"

"You are not my brother Nemesis. You are just a poor, mediocre clone of me. Nothing more."

Nemesis smiled. He stood there, eyeing Optimus, as if about to give a speech. Optimus did the same.

"Let's end this Nemesis."

"Ladies first."

They both ran toward each other, about to strike.

_Chapter 14: Kens Second Thoughts_

As Ken saw the finishing blow on Blackout, he untied his mother and got her down onto the landing. She hugged him fiercely.

"Mom, are you ok?"

"Yes son. I'm fine. It's all thanks to this... umm... what are you?" she said as she let go of her son and went down the stairs to the Cybertronian.

The stranger looked down and crouched.

"The names Tumbler, earth woman. And it wasn't no problem. I do it ever' day."

"Come on mom. Lets go!" he said as he dragged her by her arm.

Tumbler could sense something was wrong. He got in front of Ken, trying to prevent them from leaving. After a few minutes of this, Ken gave up.

"Would you get out of the way? I have to get her home!"

"Not until I have a word with you... Ken."

Ken frowned and looked at his savior.

"How the hell do you know my name?"

"Alpha Trion spoke highly of you. Said you were a very brave human. Not just anyone would take part in this dangerous war."

"War? Dangerous? Alpha Trion? What is he talking about son?"

Ken hesitated, but ended up telling his mother about the past few months, including the battles he took part in.

"You mean to say, you have saved the Earth twice with the help of these... things and your friends?"

"Yeah. You mad?"

"Mad? Hell... No!"

"Huh?"

"You have helped save the planet twice! You saved me, your sister, and the entire world twice! I couldn't be more proud of you, dear!" she kissed him on the cheek and hugged him more.

"Bu' I'm wonderin' Why in the name o' Primus, ain't ya helping Optimus right now?" asked Tumbler.

Ken explained to Tumbler and his mother. She smacked him in back of the head and gave

him the "mother death stare."

"You should be fighting with this... "Optimus" you dolt! And you choose to quit, because you 'can't handle the stress?'"

She felt very disappointed with her son.

"You would've let me die, because you didn't wanna be involved with the alien civil war anymore?"

"Yeah."

Before she could scream a lecture at her son, Tumbler stopped her.

"Ken. I may have been created just a few months ago, but I know this. If you are involved in something as big as a war, you can't just quit whenever you feel like it. You gotta stick with it, through and through. War has sacrifices, this is true. I lost a few friends in this war, but I never quit. It's my duty to hunt and kill any Decepticons I find. Now, you don't trust Optimus because of a little thing like, thinking he was invincible."

"Optimus is a great leader, and he will still protect you, even when you are old and unable to do your duty. One day, he will do something so hasty, and brave, that you will completely have faith and trust in him again. If that happens, maybe one day you will do the same for him. Even before he became a Prime, he was always brave. Hell, he would sacrifice himself, just to save his own man. Now, keep that in mind as I take you two home."

Tumbler transformed and they both got into his mode. Ken was silent as he went in. As they drove off, out of the warehouse, he did give it seconds thoughts. Maybe Tumbler is right. Maybe I have been a fool. Maybe I should apologize. Maybe I should apologize to them all, even my ex girlfriend, and my best friend. Soon, they arrived at Kens house. The got out and Ken walked silently to the lawn. His mom shut the door of the Batmobile.

"Thank you very much Tumbler. Hope you can save Optimus and the others."

"You are very welcome Mrs. Nax. I wish you and Ken the best of luck. Maybe if we're lucky, he will join us again."

"I hope so. Take care!"

"You too."

He drove off to join the Autobots. She saw him drive off and smiled. When he was no longer in view, he went to the porch and sat next to her son, who was sulking.

"How you doing?"

"I'm holding up. And thinking."

"About what Tumbler said?"

"Yeah. I have been an idiot. I quit this alien war for myself. My ex girlfriend and best friend are fighting with them right now, and I'm here just sulking about it."

"One day, Optimus will do something so heroic and brave, that you will see the error of your ways and aid him again. By then, you will have complete trust in him again. I know I do."

"Heh, yeah. Thanks mom."

"You're welcome son."

They hugged and stayed that way for near a few minutes.

_Chapter 15: The Brute_

When Optimus went after Nemesis, Ironhide was in charge. They all had Thunderwing and his men pinned. Thunderwing had enough of it.

"My master, What do we do?" asked Onslaught.

"Grrrrr... Those damn Autobots have us pinned. Only one thing to do. Combaticons! Combine into Bruticus!"

Onslaught nodded. He made a gesture to his men and they all transformed. Brawl formed the left leg, and Swindle formed the right leg. Silver parts of what appeared to be legs, came out of them. Onslaught expanded his vehicle mode and formed the torso. The silver legs connected to the torso, and two more silver things came out on both sides of the torso, and these were arms. Blast Off formed the right arm, while Vortex formed the left. Lastly, a giant head came out of the top of the torso. It looked an awful lot like Nemesis Primes head, but it was mainly black with a little white. It spoke in a real deep voice.

"I AM BRUTICUS!"

Thunderwing gave a hysterical laugh.

"Hahahaha. Bruticus, destroy them!"

"OF COURSE MASTER THUNDERWING."

He made very slow steps toward them. Thunderwing and Thrust managed to take many steps back, and they were clear of the battle.

"Now Thrust, you will see the demise of the Autobots!"

"I sure hope so my master. Lord Fallen will be most... displeased if it goes wrong."

"Shut up!"

Bruticus revealed rocket launchers from his back. He fired some at the Autobots. Most of them dodged the blasts. As Bruticus stepped closer. Wheeljack accidently barrel rolled near his foot. Bruticus lifted his foot and let it down on top of the Autobot. Wheeljack was able to hold it back for a bit.

"Wheeljack!" yelled Bumblebee.

"Tell Optimus that I died an honorable death." cried Wheeljack.

Bruticus pummeled his foot down and squished Wheeljack into a metal pile of scrap. He lifted his foot up and looked under his foot.

"Eww, I think I stepped in something."

He scrapped off Wheeljacks remains with his own hands and threw them aside. Ironhide looked around to try and plan out a plan. He couldn't think of anything right off the bat, but then it hit him!

"Dinobots." he whispered.

Ironhide got out his communicator and pressed a button. It sent out a signal. For a few more minutes, the fighting seemed the same. Although, soon Bumblebee heard something.

"What's that noise? Sounds like... an earthquake?"

The Autobots looked up and saw Swoop flying high above.

"Swoop is here!" yelled Swoop.

He fired lasers out of his wing cannons. They hit Bruticus and a big explosion made impact.

"Grrr. Destroy!"yelled the Combiner.

Before he could grab the flying Dinobot, Swoop turned around and fired the flamethrower from his mouth. Flames emitted from his mouth and the intense heat landed on the Combiners hand.

"Rah! Burns!" yelled Bruticus.

His hand was now red from the burn and hurt in the same way. He held his palm and grew more angry. Before he could fire back, he saw 4 more Dinobots approaching him. Grimlock was leading his fellow Dinobots.

"Dinobots, charge into big robot!"

They did as they were told and charged. Grimlock ran to Bruticus' foot and bit it. He was able to actually bite through it and have a chunk of metal in his mouth. He spit out the robots metal.

"Yuck! Mean giant robot taste bad!"

Him and the others opened their mouths and fired their flamethrowers at him. Bruticus stepped back and saw many burns on his legs. Behind a junk pile, Jetfire and Powerglide were firing on Bruticus.

"Any plans Jetfire?" cried Powerglide.

"Actually, I do. The plan is maybe we can tear his head off."

"How do you expect to do that, if I may?"

"Years ago, I developed this rope and hook. You can use it on Bruticus and all you have to do is pull." he said as he took out a grappling hook look-a-like.

"Sounds like a plan. Let's do it!"

Jetfire turned Powerglide around and inserted the grappling hook into Powerglides rocket launchers.

"I may need covering fire though. I can't guarantee that the big guy here will let me tear off his head that easily."

"I agree. I have another plan."

Jetfire ran awkwardly over to Ironhide and told him the plan.

"I agree Jetfire. Bots! Give Glide some cover!"

Powerglide took this as the get-go. He transformed and flew off toward the big Con. Thunderwing watched the red Autobot is anger.

"Gah! I know his plan! Bruticus fire on Powerglide!"

"I can't. Autobot fire is preventing me from doing anything, my master."

"Leave this to me master." said Thrust.

"Ugh. Fine."

Thrust transformed and took off toward Powerglide. Ironhide looked up and saw that Thrust took off to Powerglide and that Thunderwing was preparing his gun. He grabbed an Ion Grenade and inserted it into his new shotgun.

"Hmph. Take this, Decepticreep!"

He fired it at the junk pile that Thunderwing stood upon. The grenade flew at high speeds and before Thunderwing could see it, it exploded on impact. Junk exploded like a chain of explosions in a power plant. Thunderwing fell to the ground with a hard thump! He was having a hard time getting up, since he was bruised all over from the explosion.

Arcee saw Thrust closing in on Powerglide just as Glide inserted the hook into the back of Bruticus' neck. He started to pull with full force. Arcee grabbed two of her ninja stars and threw them at the Con. In a precise last minute move, the stars cut through Thrusts wings and cut them in half. He started to twirl out of control and landed face first to the ground, near Thunderwing. As that happened, Powerglide successfully pulled Bruticus' head clean off his shoulders. He released the head and it fell with a great big CRASH! He eyes of the Combiner turned dark. The rest of the body fell to the ground in a thundering crash!

_Chapter 16: The Clones End_

Their weapons clashed. Ax vs ax. Nemesis was one of those guys that goes on the offensive. Optimus just kept on defending his opponents swings.

"Optimus, why don't you give up? Clones ALWAYS win!"

"Never!"

Optimus and Nemesis were equal in combat. Optimus put his ax away and grabbed out his pistol, and Nemesis did the same.

"Nemesis. This is your chance to surrender. Give up, and we can avoid anymore bloodshed."

"But bloodshed is what being a Cybertronian is all about!"

"You claim to be my clone, but your nothing but one of the Fallens cheap knock offs!"

Nemesis grew angry and fired at Optimus. Optimus barrel rolled out of the wat and behind a boulder. The sound of the impact cause a very tiny earthquake.

"Nemesis! Stop or you'll bury us both!"

"Better both of us then just me, Prime!"

Optimus came from behind the boulder and charged at Nemesis, while jumping tiny lava pits. He fired multiple rounds. Nemesis threw his gun to the side and charged as well. When they collided, Optimus shot him square in the chest. Nemesis grieved in pain. He ignored it and punched Optimus in the face. Optimus stumbled back and Nemesis roundhouse kicked him far.

Optimus landed with his head right above a large lava pit. The heat was hurting his circuits. Nemesis grabbed his pistol and walked dramatically toward his Original. He stopped in front of him and aimed his gun at Optimus' head.

"Now Optimus, time for you to die. Good-bye, my brother."

"I will never be your brother!"

Nemesis smiled. He started to squeeze the trigger, until a little shot of lava bubbled out of the pit and landed into Nemesis' eye. He screamed in the most painful way

"RAHH! MY EYE! GOD DAMN LAVA BURNED MY EYE! ARGH!"

Optimus took this as his chance and got up. He charged at Nemesis, while holding his ax. He swung multiple times and all hit. Nemesis' arm came clean off from one strike and fell into the river of lava. Nemesis was incapable of fighting back. After many minutes of slashing at his clone, Nemesis' back was at the lava pool. Nemesis was badly injured, and would keel over at any time. Optimus grabbed his own pistol and aimed it at Nemesis.

"Please Optimus, spare me. We can work together and destroy The Fallen! Just the two of us!"

"No. You may look like me, and sound like me, but your spirit won't ever be like mine."

He fired at Nemesis and the evil clone was launched to the back of the pool and he crashed. He body slammed into the lava pool. Nemesis was screaming in pain, begging for help. His arm reached out to Optimus, who shook his head and watched. Soon, Nemesis Primes body was completely submerged in the lava pit. Optimus relaxed his mind. It was over. As a lasting reminder, something bubbled up from the pit. It was Nemesis' helmet. Optimus closed his eyes and left the cave. He transformed and went to join his men.

At the destruction of Bruticus, Thunderwing and Thrust got up off the ground and looked is sorrow.

"M-My B-Bruticus... dead." cried Thunderwing.

"What shall we do master? We are surrounded." asked Thrust.

Thunderwing shook his head and even then, he knew death was guaranteed.

"Master, we can still fly away! We can get The Fallen down here an-" CRASH!

Thrust was hit by a far away rocket. Thunderwing looked around and saw no one. Thrust was hit by more rockets and the final one hit him in the neck, decapitating him. Thrusts headless body fell to the ground, immobile. Thunderwing saw the new Autobot, Tumbler heading toward him. Tumbler transformed as Thunderwing fired at him. Tumbler ran to Thunderwing, grabbed his arm and twisted it in a not-so-comfortable way. He tore it off and hit Thunderwing with it. He then turned the War Lord around and punched his way through his chest, with Thunderwings spark in hand. He crushed it and took out his arm. Thunderwing fell to the ground, dead.

Before Tumbler could join the others, he saw Ratbat flying toward him. Tumbler used a small rocket launcher and fired it at Ratbat. The small rocket took out Ratbats head. The headless Con fell out of the sky and landed into a junk pile.

As Tumbler walked toward the other Autobots and humans, Optimus came rolling up with some battle damage.

_Chapter 17: Fear of Return_

Optimus stopped near his men and transformed. He looked around the junk yard and saw the dead bodies of the Decepticons. He silently walked to a little pile of squished metal. Bumblebee followed. Optimus stopped in front of the pile and bent down as if to pray.

"Wheeljack?" asked Optimus.

"Wheeljack." answered Bumblebee as he sat a hand on his shoulder.

"Did he have any last words?"

"Just to tell you that he died an honorable death."

"Yes. I agree. Poor Wheeljack."

Optimus got up, and he and Bumblebee joined the others. He looked at Tumbler with confusion.

"Who are you?" asked Optimus.

"Name's Tumbler!"

, and how it came to be. Finally, he explained that he met Ken and saved him and his mom from Blackout.

"Thank you very much Tumbler. I'm sure Ken will rethink all his actions now." said Optimus.

"I hope so too."

"Will you join us? We could use someone with your talents."

"Sorry, Optimus. I am a nomad. I move from place to place, hunting the evils of the Decepticons."

"I understand. If Megatron ends up bringing his whole army for a final battle, I hope you will aid us?"

"Of course! Nothin' would please me more then to see that creep dead!"

"I wish you luck in your travels."

Tumbler nodded. He transformed and took off. They watched as he took off to the horizon. Optimus took a long look and thought about Ken and their broken trust. Before he could dwell deeper into his mind, Ironhide spoke.

"So Prime, is Nemesis dead?"

Optimus turned to his friend.

"Yes. He died in a lava pit. Brutal way to die."

"I'll say." said Inferno.

Optimus looked around again.

"So... Thunderwing and his men are dead."

"Yeah. We are all safe now." said Marissa.

"For now, mind you." said Mike.

"Why?"

"The Fallen and Megatron could possibly be coming here once the hear about Thunderwings failure. Right Optimus?"

"That is correct Mike. I fear they will return soon."

"What is the plan Optimus?" asked Sunstreaker.

"For now, there is no plan."

"Then what do we do?" asked Hardhead.

"Prepare. That's all we can do." answered Optimus.

Optimus looked at the sun.

"What I'm worried about is a foe that far exceeds The Fallens power."

"Who?" asked Arcee.

"Unicron." said Optimus.


End file.
